Improvement in sewing-machine



PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1868. A.

ITO/81,821.

s, ROWLEY. 'SBWINGMAGHINE.

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Letters Patent No. 81,821, dated September 1, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MAGEINE.

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Be it known that I, ALEXAZ\'DER S. RowLEY, of the city of Hudson, in thecounty of Columbia, and State of New York, have invented a new anduseful Machine for Sewing straw, rush, flag, reed, or any other fibrous.or textile substances into matting, carpeting, &c., the scams or sewingforming the warp thereof, and i also for sewing and quilting cloth and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction.sndcperotion of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this Specification,in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view,

Figure? a. longitudinal elevatiom The nature of my invention consists inthe combination of a number of needles, arranged on a ho.;zontalreciprocating bar, operating in combination with mechanism for-formingeither a. lock or chain-stitch with a peculiar feeding-device, asdescribed, so that matting for floors or lining for carpets, of straw,rush, grasses, or other vegetable growths, or of any loose textile orfibrous material, may be sewn.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction a and operation. I p i I constructa frame of wood or metal, or partly of both, similar to that representedin fig. 1 of the drawings .annexed, notintending to confine myself,however, to any particular form, for I contemplate operating this bar,carrying one. two, or more needles, over a. table having the loopers orstitch-formers beneath or combined with it, and each t'the needle-barand the table) so separated from the other as to pass between them avessel's sail, or any other fabric, no matter what its breadth orexpansion.

The dimensions of the frame referred to are proportionate to the widthof the fabric it is designed to make. If it is intended to sew anymaterial, fabric, or cloth, a. yard in width, the frame should be atleast three and a half feet in the clear; and if it is to be six feet inwidth, the frame should be not less than six and a half feet in theclear.

On the cross-bar A, 6 2 1, arrange any desired number ofneedles,(sewing-machine needles,) a a a, &c., at such distances apart asmay be required. I One needle alone may be used for ornamental or plainsewing on quilts, table and piano-covers, counterpanes, leather, &c.,where much room or space is required for the article or fabric to besewed. The needles are secured intheir respective places by means ofthumb-screws or their equivalents, ,so that they may be easily adjustedor replaced. B is a table or platform, for the support of the materialor fabric being sewed. It is provided with slots or perforations for theneedles to pass through- Bcneath this table I arrange a. series ofloopcrs or slotted hooks, b b b, &c., corresponding with the number ofneedles. These loopers are all operated together by-mcans of the cams CC, at each end of the parallel bars or rods 0 d e. v i

The needle-bar A is operated by meuns of cranks, pulleys, or eccentrics,connected with each of its ends. It is.provided atc'ac'h end withgrooves, and slides up and down on guides or ways k k on the frame,similar to the cross-head of-steam-engincs. The spools &e., for thethread .or twine, are arranged, one for each,

' directly overcharges-dies, with suitable.devices for regulating thetension. I contemplate driving the cams G C by gearingpulleys and beltsor cranks; p

The opcra't-i mof the above-described arrangement is to cause theloopers or hooks b b b, &c., to catch the slack of the thread at theeye, just its the needles begin to ascend, disengaging the loop at thenext descent, and then again catching another slack at the next .ascent,and so on, alternately dropping and catching the loops, forming thus, bythercgu-lar and uniform feed of the fabric oimatoriulbeing sewed, whatis known as the loop or chain-stitch.

To make the lock-stitch, I contemplate adapting the Wheeler and Wilson,the Singer, or any other of the known devicestwith tho patentcesconsent) employed on singlemeedle sewing-machines. Either or them caneasily be adapted to my machine. If the shuttle is employed, one foreach needle will he required, which can be operated by gearing and camsarranged under-the endless apron and table 13. So also thehook-aud-bobbin sum device of the Wheeler and Wilson machine can'beoperated by, placing them on the ends of spindles or short shafts, onefor each needle, and driving all of them together by means of belts fromeach of the spindles to 2. (humor cylinder, or by gearing, arranged alsounder the table B and endless apron D.

For sewing straw, rush, flag, &'.c., I employ the endless apron D toreceive the loose material from the hopper E and spike-cylinder F, andcarry it on to the table B, whenever it is necessary to use them, whichwill, in general, only he in sewing straw. The V-shapo of the hopper Eis importanigas the most simple and effective device for straighteningthe straw. I contemplate using a ridged or corrugated cylinder in placeof the spiked cylinder F in some cases, and for some materials. Thespikes or teeth on cylinder F, as they revolve, pass between fingers orslats, which take 011' the straw or other loose material, and deliver iton the endless apron D.

The two rollers ff act as a take-up of the fabric as fast as made orsewed. One at least should be coated with emery, or fluted. At each endof these, or in combination with them, are circular knives 11 which trimoh the edges of the matting or other fabric as it passes through; andbelow these I employanother'roller, on which the finished article ofmanufacture is rolled, ready to be removed.

Fingers or slats extend lengthwise over the endless 'apron D,resting'lightly on the straw, to keep it in place. (These, however, arenot very necessary, and may be dispensed with.) ,Those extending to andbetween the needles, where they are made to press sufliciently hard tohold the straw firmly on the table, alternately with each rise and fallof the needles, are indispensable. These fingers, s e s, &c., areemployed both as pressers orholders, and as feeders, by giving them therequisite motions, that is, a rising and falling by connecting them withthe needle-bar A, and a. feeding or reciprocating by connecting themwith one of the pulleys, as shown in fig. 2, having a bevelled piece,2', extending across on their under sides, which pushes forward, underthe needles, increments of straw or; other material or fabric as fast asrequired. The length of the stitch is also regulated by this feed. Theseslats or fingers may be either jointed at n or not acccrding to kind ofwork to be done or the material to be used.

Claims.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Iletters Patent,is-

1. The combination and arrangement ofthe two came 00', the rods 0 d c,and series of hooks I: b b, &c., substantially as and'for the purposeset forth. r

.2. The combination and arrangement of the angular box or hopper E, thespiked, toothed, or corrugated cylinder F, endless apron D, and holdingand feeding-fingers s a s, 830., substantially as and for the purposeherein set forth.

3. In combination with the above, a sewingsrnechanism substantially asand for the purpose described. ALE-X, S. ROWLEY. Witnesses:

Jami M. Coons, Hrnnu W. DIXON.

